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Four Futuristic Game Techs That Exist in Real Life

I often use videogames as a form of escapism. Flying on a griffin through World of Warcraft's Azeroth or gunning down enemies as a fearless soldier in any number of games, I use gaming to enjoy being something far from the reality of who I am and what I can be. But games aren't always complete flights of fancy, either. Here's a list of some cutting-edge technologies we've seen in games that actually have counterparts in real life, even if they aren't always exactly the same.

Spartan MJOLNIR Armor

MJOLNIR armor has several features that stand out. It protects the user with heavy armor, has rechargeable shields, a state-of-the-art heads-up display (HUD), and is integrated with the user to enhance their physical capabilities. Oh yeah, and it's pretty badass-looking.

The U.S. Army has been working with various researchers to develop similar armor for our future armed forces. By 2010 the Army hopes to roll out various pieces of the new uniform, and by 2020 hopes to have suits that use nanotechnology and exoskeletons. The final version of the suit will ideally have a helmet with built-in GPS, a layered suit that can monitor the vital signs of the soldier (including how hydrated they are), liquid body armor that goes rigid by way of electrical signals (but also allows freedom of movement when not being used to protect the user), and an exoskeleton that will greatly enhance the soldier's strength.

So the future soldiers of America might not have rechargeable shields, but if things go according to plan, they should still have a lot of the armor capabilities of the Master Chief. Halo takes place in the 26th century, so perhaps by then we'll have the rechargeable shield thing down, too.

Capcom-style Bionic Arms

If you haven't read up on Capcom's new Bionic Commando, you should check out my last preview. The game centers around a character with a heavy-duty bionic arm, one that allows him to perform great feats of strength as well as grapple around his environment in a fashion akin to Spider-Man. I know, you're thinking to yourself, "How can I lose my arm to get me one of those?"

The truth of the matter is that bionic arms do exist, but they simply aren't as advanced as they are in the videogame world. Current bionic arms are technological breakthroughs, but they mostly allow the user to perform simple functions like moving their arm around or opening and closing a hand. That sounds pretty boring when you read it, but the amazing thing is that even these basic functions are controlled by the user through electrical impulses to nerves, just like our own biological limbs. These limbs are still in the development phase, but it isn't completely out of the question that future bionics could be used to go beyond enabling a person and let them augment their body with tools to do a specific job. Like swinging over vast chasms in Area 6.